I may be back on a regular schedule now. Not sure if that’s a good thing without interesting content but on we go! The fall-like weather continues and it may be that we’ll miss winter altogether (let’s keep our fingers crossed.) The Florida crew arrived back in town late yesterday and have elected not to come in today after a couple of 12 hour days – what wimps. Next week real work should resume. Not that what we have been doing is not real work – just boring work. This is what happens if you over-tighten screws in plastic materials. We use Sikaflex which is an adhesive/sealant and only put the screws in tight enough to pull the part in. This allows the adhesive to do a better job of sealing, if you over-tighten it drives the sealant out creating a weak bond and stressing the plastic. I made a command decision yesterday and had the remaining guys knock off early to do a clean up in the carpentry shop – which is a real mess. I often air brush out the junk in my photos but it becomes a hazard when it gets too bad. When Dickerson was building boats I noticed they threw away a bunch of teak scraps. Even then, teak was very expensive. I started doing some dumpster diving and took a bunch of it home to my shop. After a few years I realized why they were tossing it. It takes more time to try to find and mill small parts than if you took the parts from a board. When you are paying for labor it gets real expensive to try to use scraps. I even ended up tossing the stuff I took home. Anything Can Happen Friday I thought I would put up some service-related items here this week – something everyone could (should) appreciate. I found a nice FAQ on Vacuflush head systems on the Marine Discounter’s blog. For a really nice LED engine room light Hella Marine seems to have made a splash with this unit, which would be also perfect to put down into a lazarette or any other small, dark spaces. Every wonder about engine zincs? Boat Parts Depot has something to say about that. David Pascoe is a wealth of knowledge and you should enjoy his article on engine mounts, alignment and vibration. You may want to read several (a lot) of his other articles while you’re there. Off boat topics but still boating related – if you are looking to replace pilings or install new slips or docks, you may want to check out Pearson Pilings who make composite fiberglass pilings – which should last a lifetime and not splinter and crack like wood ones. Follow Up – After showing the GB interior door makeover we have had a request for that project on another boat. Even though we didn’t actually do that project we are certainly capable of it – it’s just a damned fine idea that we should of suggested. Do you think we should give a commission to the customer who let me display his photos?